Drug Testinghttp://stopthedrugwar.org/topics/drug_war_issues/intersecting_issues/privacy/drug_testing
enChronicle AM: Seattle Safe Injection Site "Die-In," ME MJ Init Vote Recount, More... (12/5/16)http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2016/dec/05/chronicle_am_seattle_safe_inject
<div class="field field-type-text field-field-body">
<div class="field-items">
<div class="field-item odd">
<p>Foes challenging the narrow legalization victory in Maine got their recount going today, patients take to the courts in Arizona and to the streets in Michigan, Seattle health care professionals do a die-in for safe injection sites, Ireland takes another step toward medical marijuana, and more.</p><p>[image:1 align:left caption:true]<strong>Marijuana Policy</strong></p><p><a href="http://www.weednews.co/marijuana-legalization-vote-recount-begins-today-in-maine/" target="_blank">Maine Legalization Initiative Recount Begins</a>. The <a href="https://www.regulatemaine.org/full-initiative-text2/" target="_blank">Question 1</a> initiative legalizing marijuana won by less than 1% of the popular vote, garnering 381,692 votes to the opposition&#39;s 377,619 votes, a difference of 4,073 votes. Citing the narrow margin of victory, foes called a recount, and it began Monday. The recount could take up to a month, delaying putting legalization into effect until it is completed.</p><p><strong>Medical Marijuana</strong></p><p><a href="http://tucson.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/medical-marijuana-users-sue-to-force-arizona-to-reduce-fees/article_5bed6631-36a3-5cfd-b7b5-2f5904c43f0a.html" target="_blank">Pair of Arizona Patients Sue Over Fees</a>. Attorneys for patients Yolanda Daniels and Lisa Becker filed suit last Friday to force a reduction in the annual fee for registration cards that patients are legally required to obtain. The state health department is charging $150 a year, even though it has nearly $11.5 million in its medical marijuana account. &quot;In a time when medication is more expensive than ever, the state should be helping to make it cheaper for Arizonans,&quot; the patients&#39; attorney argued. &quot;The state is deliberately squatting on the excess fund instead of refunding it to patients or using it in furtherance of the Arizona Medical Marijuana Act, such as to help patients.&quot;</p><p><a href="http://www.mlive.com/news/grand-rapids/index.ssf/2016/12/protesters_cry_foul_over_medic.html" target="_blank">Michigan Protestors Denounce Kent County Dispensary Raids</a>. A couple of dozen people gathered outside the Plainfield Township Hall last Friday to protest a series of raids last Monday that shuttered three dispensaries in Plainfield. Demonstrators said they have nowhere to go to get their medicine, but Plainfield officials countered that dispensaries had been banned there since 2011.</p><p><strong>Harm Reduction</strong></p><p><a href="http://www.seattleweekly.com/news/activists-die-at-city-hall-in-protest-for-safe-drug-sites" target="_blank">Seattle Nurses, Doctors Do Die-In at City Hall in Protest Calling for Safe Injection Sites</a>. As Seattle officials ponder whether to move toward allowing a safe injection site, doctors and nurses are turning up the heat. Last Friday, more than 30 members of Health Care Workers for Supervised Consumption Spaces held a die-in at City Hall to imitate the corpses that will be created if safe injection sites aren&#39;t allowed. City officials have been generally sympathetic to the idea, and a Seattle/King County opioid task force recommended the move in September.</p><p><strong>International</strong></p><p><a href="http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/uk-nightclubs-offer-free-cocaine-9389372" target="_blank">British Town to Allow Drug Testing at Clubs</a>. In a harm reduction first for the United Kingdom, a town in Lancashire will be the first in the country to offer testing of drug samples provided by club-goers at night clubs. The tests will examine samples of cocaine and MDMA to test the strength and purity of the drugs in a bid to reduce deaths related to &quot;adulterated or highly potent&quot; drugs. The National Police Chief&#39;s Council reportedly said the scheme could be useful but was still not yet endorsed on a national basis.</p><p><a href="http://www.ibtimes.com/ireland-marijuana-legalization-lawmakers-approve-medical-cannabis-bill-2455111" target="_blank">Ireland Takes Another Step Toward Medical Marijuana</a>. The Dáil Éireann, the lower house of parliament, last Thursday approved an amendment allowing for the medicinal use of marijuana. But the measure still has to undergo another round of approval before it becomes law.</p><p><a href="http://www.thejournal.ie/cannabis-recreational-use-ireland-poll-3115926-Dec2016/" target="_blank">Poll: More Irish Support Marijuana Legalization Than Not.</a> As the parliament ponders medical marijuana, a new poll finds that more Irish than not support full-blown legalization. A poll asking &quot;Should cannabis be legalized for recreational use?&quot; had 48% saying yes, 41% saying no, and 11% undecided.</p> </div>
</div>
</div>
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2016/dec/05/chronicle_am_seattle_safe_inject#comments2016CocaineDrug TestingEcstasyIncreased Drug PotencyMarijuana -- Personal UseMarijuana LegalizationMedical MarijuanaNews BriefOverdosesPoisoned Drug SupplyPollingPublic OpinionSafe Injection SitesState CourtsMon, 05 Dec 2016 21:19:25 +0000psmith32188 at http://stopthedrugwar.orgChronicle AM: Obama Says Treat Weed Like Cigs or Booze, FDA Phase 3 MDMA Trials, More... (11/30/16)http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2016/nov/30/chronicle_am_obama_says_treat_we
<div class="field field-type-text field-field-body">
<div class="field-items">
<div class="field-item odd">
<p>On his way out of office, President Obama makes his most pro-legalization remarks yet, the FDA gives a green light for Phase 3 MDMA clinical trials, Bolivia ignores UN anti-drug treaties and signs an agreement to export coca to Ecuador, and more.</p><p>[image:1 align:right caption:true]<strong>Marijuana Policy</strong></p><p><a href="http://reason.com/blog/2016/11/30/on-his-way-out-the-door-obama-says-marij" target="_blank">Obama Says Marijuana Should Be Treated Like Cigarettes and Alcohol</a>. In a new <a href="http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/features/obama-on-his-legacy-trumps-win-and-the-path-forward-w452527" target="_blank">interview</a> with<em> Rolling Stone</em>, President Obama said marijuana should be treated as a public health matter and regulated like cigarettes and alcohol. &quot;I am not somebody who believes that legalization is a panacea. But I do believe that treating this as a public-health issue, the same way we do with cigarettes or alcohol, is the much smarter way to deal with it.&quot; Obama added that: &quot;In light of these referenda passing, including in California, I&#39;ve already said... that it is untenable over the long term for the Justice Department or the DEA to be enforcing a patchwork of laws, where something that&#39;s legal in one state could get you a 20-year prison sentence in another. So this is a debate that is now ripe, much in the same way that we ended up making progress on same-sex marriage. There&#39;s something to this whole states being laboratories of democracy and an evolutionary approach. You now have about a fifth of the country where this is legal.&quot;</p><p><strong>Kratom</strong></p><p><a href="http://medicalxpress.com/news/2016-11-kratom-medical-benefit-opioid-alternative.html" target="_blank">Researchers Suggest Kratom Could Have Benefits as Opioid Alternative</a>. A special report published Monday in <em>The Journal of the American Osteopathic Association</em> says a proposed DEA ban on kratom would stifle scientific understanding of the herb&#39;s chemical components and pharmaceutical properties. The researchers also say that both anecdotal evidence and scientific research suggest kratom may be safer and less addictive than opioids. &quot;There&#39;s no question kratom compounds have complex and potential useful pharmacologic activities and they produce chemically different actions from opioids,&quot; said author Walter Prozialeck, chairman of the Department of Pharmacology at Midwestern University Chicago College of Osteopathic Medicine. &quot;Kratom doesn&#39;t produce an intense euphoria and, even at very high doses, it doesn&#39;t depress respiration, which could make it safer for users.&quot;</p><p><strong>MDMA</strong></p><p><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/29/us/ptsd-mdma-ecstasy.html" target="_blank">FDA Approves Phase 3 Clinical Trials of MDMA for PTSD</a>. The Food and Drug Administration has given permission for large-scale Phase 3 clinical trials of MDMA to treat PTSD, the final step before possible approval of Ecstasy as a prescription drug. The move comes after the Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (<a href="http://www.maps.org/" target="_blank">MAPS</a>) sponsored six Phase 2 studies with 130 PTSD patients. MAPS is also funding this current research.</p><p><strong>Drug Testing</strong></p><p><a href="http://www.mlive.com/news/index.ssf/2016/11/pilot_project_on_drug-testing.html" target="_blank">Michigan Pilot Welfare Drug Testing Program Comes Up With Squat</a>. A pilot program to submit welfare recipients to drug abuse screening found only one person identified as needing a drug test out of 443 people screened -- and that person had his case closed before he submitted a drug test. The screening for drug abuse identified 27 people as possibly needing a drug test, but ten were already getting drug treatment, three had their cases closed for other reasons, and 14 others were cleared after screening. The tests themselves cost the state $700, but the main costs undoubtedly were from &quot;increased staffing, administrative costs, administrative hearings, and program changes to the electronic benefits application system.&quot;</p><p><strong>International</strong></p><p><a href="https://panampost.com/ysol-delgado/2016/11/22/despite-un-ban-bolivia-will-export-coca-based-products-to-ecuador/" target="_blank">Bolivia to Ignore UN Ban, Begin Coca Exports to Ecuador</a>. Bolivia and Ecuador have signed an agreement to export legal Bolivian coca products to the Ecuadorian market. The UN Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs bans the export of coca because it contains the cocaine alkaloid, but neither Bolivia nor Ecuador appear to care.</p> </div>
</div>
</div>
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2016/nov/30/chronicle_am_obama_says_treat_we#commentsDrug TestingEcstasyExecutive BranchKratomMarijuana -- Personal UseMarijuana LegalizationNews BriefState & Local Executive BranchesWelfareWed, 30 Nov 2016 21:54:26 +0000psmith32180 at http://stopthedrugwar.orgChronicle AM: ME Recount Possible, DEA Bans "Pink," WI Welfare Drug Tests Start, More... (11/14/16)http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2016/nov/14/chronicle_am_me_recount_possible
<div class="field field-type-text field-field-body">
<div class="field-items">
<div class="field-item odd">
<p>Cannabis cafes are coming, Maine legalization foes seek a recount, Massachusetts legislators are threatening to &quot;improve&quot; the legalization initiative, the DEA bans &quot;pink,&quot; and more.</p><p>[image:1 align:right caption:true]<strong>Marijuana</strong></p><p><a href="http://reason.com/blog/2016/11/11/here-come-the-cannabis-cafmdash" target="_blank">Marijuana Victories Will See Cannabis Cafes Coming</a>. The victories for marijuana legalization initiatives in California, Maine, Massachusetts, and Nevada last week will set the stage for social marijuana consumption at licensed venues. Three of the states make provisions for social consumption, while the fourth leaves the issue for legislators. And in Denver, voters approved a local initiative that will allow local businesses to designate &quot;consumption areas&quot; for customers who bring their own weed.</p><p><a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2016/nov/12/opponents-push-recount-over-outcome-maines-recreat/" target="_blank">Maine Legalization Foes Seek Recount After Narrow Defeat</a>. Unofficially, the <a href="https://www.regulatemaine.org/full-initiative-text2/" target="_blank">Question 1</a> legalization initiative won by a mere 5,000 votes out of about 750,000 cast, and that&#39;s too close a call for the &quot;no&quot; campaign to just accept. &quot;No&quot; spokesmen are threatening to seek a recount. They have until the end of work Wednesday to collect a hundred signatures in order to seek a recount from the secretary of state&#39;s office.</p><p><a href="https://www.leafly.com/news/politics/massachusetts-senate-leader-lawmakers-may-review-new-cannabis-law" target="_blank">Massachusetts Legislators Turn Eyes on &quot;Improving&quot; Legalization Initiative</a>. Senate President Stan Rosenberg said last Thursday said the <a href="https://www.regulatemassachusetts.org/question4/" target="_blank">Question 4</a> initiative will need &quot;improvements&quot; to address issues such as marijuana sales taxes, infused edible products, and driving while high. Rosenberg said the legislature could take up the issues shortly after returning in January. But the Question 4 campaign pushed back, saying that legislators should &quot;respect the will of the voters,&quot; let regulators do their job crafting regulations, then see if anything needs fixing.</p><p><strong>New Psychoactive Substances</strong></p><p><a href="https://www.dea.gov/divisions/hq/2016/hq111016.shtml" target="_blank">DEA Bans Synthetic Opioid Known as &quot;Pink.&quot;</a> Using its emergency scheduling powers, the DEA has banned the synthetic opioid U-47700, commonly known as &quot;pink.&quot; Effective today, the drug is now a Schedule I controlled substance. The drug has been linked to dozens of confirmed fatalities, and is now banned for 24 months while the DEA decides if it should be permanently placed in Schedule I.</p><p><strong>Drug Testing</strong></p><p><a href="http://www.jetmag.com/news/wisconsin-welfare-drug-testing" target="_blank">Wisconsin Welfare Drug Testing Starts Today</a>. As of Monday, people seeking welfare benefits will be subject to drug testing. Republican Gov. Scott Walker painted the move as helping families and employers. &quot;Employers across the state frequently tell me they have good-paying jobs available in high-demand fields, but need their workers to be drug-free,&quot; Walker said in a statement. &quot;These important entitlement reforms will help more people find family-supporting jobs, moving them from government dependence to true independence.&quot;</p><p><strong>International</strong></p><p><a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/us-philippines-drugs-idUSKBN1370FI" target="_blank">Philippines President Threatens Drug War Suspension of Habeas Corpus</a>. President Rodrigo Duterte said he is considering suspending habeas corpus because it&#39;s just too much work to build cases against individual drug suspects. And he doesn&#39;t worry about legality. &quot;I am the president. Of course I have the powers,&quot; he said Friday. &quot;I can be ordered by the Supreme Court to stop it, but there are things that they cannot, and maybe, I will not, stop I can go to jail. File all the charges that you can think of. But this country, in my time, will not deteriorate any further.&quot; The Philippines constitution says the president may suspend habeas corpus &quot;in case of invasion or rebellion, when the public safety requires it.&quot;</p><p><a href="http://www.dw.com/en/berlin-likely-to-semi-legalize-marijuana/a-36370376" target="_blank">Berlin Set to Move on Marijuana Liberalization</a>. The city&#39;s governing coalition of Social Democrats, Greens, and the Left Party has agreed to push for partial decriminalization of marijuana. The move would require a waiver from federal authorities to allow experimenting with drug policies that contradict the Federal Intoxicants Law.</p> </div>
</div>
</div>
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2016/nov/14/chronicle_am_me_recount_possible#comments2016DEADecriminalizationDrug TestingMarijuana -- Personal UseMarijuana IndustryMarijuana LegalizationNew Synthetic DrugsNews BriefPopularization of Worse DrugsState & Local LegislaturesWelfareMon, 14 Nov 2016 22:01:52 +0000psmith32161 at http://stopthedrugwar.orgFlailing Trump Pivots to Drug Policy, Demands Hillary Drug Test, Pivots Away Again [FEATURE]http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2016/oct/19/flailing_trump_pivots_drug_polic
<div class="field field-type-text field-field-body">
<div class="field-items">
<div class="field-item odd">
<p><em>This article was produced in collaboration with AlterNet and first appeared <a href="http://www.alternet.org/drugs/flailing-trump-pivots-drug-policy-hillary-drug-test">here</a>.</em></p><p>Reeling from allegation after allegation of sexual misconduct, Republican presidential contender Donald Trump tried to go on the offensive on drug policy over the weekend, but in a manner typical of his campaign, he touched only briefly on the topic before flying off on new tangents, and he began his drug policy interlude with a bizarre attack on Hillary Clinton.</p><p>[image:1 align:left caption:true]At a <a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/donald-trump-turns-focus-issues-drugs-criminal-justice-reform-n666956" target="_blank">speech</a> at a Toyota dealership in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, Saturday, the GOP candidate claimed that Clinton was on performance-enhancing drugs before their last debate and suggested drug tests were in order.</p><p>&quot;Why don&#39;t we do that?&quot; he demanded, adding that Clinton was likely &quot;getting pumped up&quot; as the prepared for that debate.</p><p>&quot;We should take a drug test prior cause I don&#39;t know what&#39;s going on with her. But at the beginning of last debate, she was all pumped up at the beginning and at the end it was like, oh take me down. She could barely reach her car,&quot; he claimed.</p><p>The claim didn&#39;t come out of nowhere. Trump was echoing an ad from two weeks ago from the pro-Trump super PAC Make America Number 1 that showed Clinton coughing and then stumbling to her van on the morning of September 11. The super PAC is bankrolled by Trump backer and big time conservative donor Robert Mercer, who dropped $2 million on the PAC in July.</p><p>The unfounded allegation of Clinton pre-debate drug use and the demand for a drug test <a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=hillary+trump+drug+test" target="_blank">grabbed media attention</a>, but if Trump was attempting to turn a corner and shift the campaign&#39;s focus away from his peccadillos, his strange accusation against Clinton only served to raise more questions about his temperament and suitability for the nation&#39;s highest office.</p><p>[image:2 align:right caption:true]And it virtually smothered any discussion of actual drug policy proposals Trump made during the speech. While Trump has obliquely addressed the heroin and prescription opioid problem in the past, Saturday&#39;s speech was the first time he tried to put any flesh on his proposals for dealing with it.</p><p>If anyone were paying attention to the policy details amidst all the racket about the drug test challenge, they would have heard drug policy proposals rooted squarely in the failed drug war strategies of the last century.</p><p>Trump would, he said, block drugs from coming into the US by -- you guessed it -- building the wall on the Mexican border. He would also seek to tighten restrictions on the prescribing of opioids. And he would reinstitute mandatory minimum sentences for drug offenders.</p><p>&quot;We have 5 percent of the world&#39;s population but use 80 percent of the prescription opioids,&quot; Trump said, eerily echoing former rival Jeb Bush, who used the same language while campaigning in the state earlier this year.</p><p>That statistic is aimed at showing that the US is over-prescribing narcotic pain killers, but <a href="http://www.who.int/medicines/areas/quality_safety/Impaired_Access/en/" target="_blank">according to the World Health Organization</a>, the actuality is that in much of the rest of the world, they are <em>underprescribing</em> them. In fact, the WHO said that in more than 150 countries with 83 percent of the global population, there is virtually no access to prescription opioids for relief of pain.</p><p>And the under-treatment of chronic pain isn&#39;t just a problem in India or China or Africa. According to the National Institute of Health, <a href="http://americanpainsociety.org/about-us/press-room/nih-study-shows-prevalence-of-chronic-or-severe-pain-in-u-s-adults" target="_blank">more than 50 million Americans</a> suffer significant chronic or severe pain. An opioid policy that focuses only on reducing prescriptions without addressing the need for access to pain killing opioids for actual pain is only half a policy.</p><p>When it comes to the border, <a href="http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2016/sep/13/donald-trump/trump-right-heroin-coming-through-southern-border/" target="_blank">Trump correctly asserts</a> that Mexico is the source of most of the heroin in the US (it produces 45% itself and another 51% comes from Latin America, mostly Colombia and Guatemala, often through Mexico), but relies on a hyper-interdiction policy (&quot;build the wall&quot;) to thwart it. Interdiction -- blocking the flow of drugs into the country -- has been a pillar of US drug policy for decades, but despite massive border build ups and the doubling of the number of Customs and Border Patrol agents in the past 15 years, the drugs still flow.</p><p>[image:3 align:left caption:true]Interdiction hasn&#39;t done the trick so far, and there is no indication that even a Trumpian wall would make a difference. The creativity of drug smugglers is legendary, and the economic incentives under drug prohibition are great. As the saying goes, &quot;Build a 50-foot wall, and they&#39;ll bring a 51-foot ladder&quot; (or a tunnel).</p><p>The third component of his drug policy is a Reaganesque &quot;lock &#39;em up.&quot; In his New Hampshire speech, he saluted running mate Mike Pence for <em>increasing</em> mandatory minimums for drug offenders as governor of Indiana.</p><p>&quot;We must make similar efforts a priority for the nation,&quot; Trump said.</p><p>That position flies in the face of a growing bipartisan consensus that the use of mandatory minimums for drug offenses is draconian, ineffective, and harms mainly minority populations. During the Obama administration, mandatory minimum sentences have been reduced with congressional assent, and Obama himself has granted commutations to hundreds of drug war prisoners serving those draconian sentences, with little dissent.</p><p>Trump&#39;s drug policy is but a sketch, but even its vague outlines reflect outdated approaches to the issue and a quickness to resort to cheap demagoguery on the issue. Still, while there is plenty of room for discussion of his approach, Trump has apparently already left the issue behind, barely mentioning it since Saturday as he tilts at other windmills.</p><p><em>(This article was prepared by StoptheDrugWar.org&#39;s lobbying arm, the Drug Reform Coordination Network, which also pays the cost of maintaining this web site. DRCNet Foundation takes no positions on candidates for public office, in compliance with section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, and does not pay for reporting that could be interpreted or misinterpreted as doing so.)</em></p> </div>
</div>
</div>
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2016/oct/19/flailing_trump_pivots_drug_polic#commentsBorderCandidates/RacesDrug TestingElectoral PoliticsHeroinInterdictionMandatory MinimumsNews FeaturePrescription OpiatesWed, 19 Oct 2016 21:40:46 +0000psmith32135 at http://stopthedrugwar.orgChronicle AM: Prohibitionists Give Big Bucks to Defeat Pot Inits, Trump on Drugs, More... (10/17/16)http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2016/oct/17/chronicle_am_prohibitionists_giv
<div class="field field-type-text field-field-body">
<div class="field-items">
<div class="field-item odd">
<p>Million dollar donations flow to the &quot;no&quot; forces in Arizona and Massachusetts, the Arizona initiative is in a dead heat according to a new poll, Donald Trump talks drugs and demands Hillary take a drug test, and more.</p><p>[image:1 align:left caption:true]<strong>Marijuana Policy</strong></p><p><a href="http://www.12news.com/news/politics/poll-presidential-race-marijuana-votes-are-tossups-among-arizonans/336128714" target="_blank">New Arizona Poll Has Legalization in Dead Heat</a>. A poll from Data Orbital released Friday has the <a href="https://www.regulatemarijuanainarizona.org/prop205/" target="_blank">Prop 205</a> legalization initiative in a statistical tie. The poll had support at 45%, with 44% opposed, 5% undecided, and, apparently, 6% unaccounted for. Pollster and political consultant George Khalaf said the &quot;no&quot; side was making gains because of heavy TV advertising in recent weeks. &quot;It&#39;s not that good for a proposition to be this far below 50%,&quot; he said of the &quot;yes&quot; side. &quot;It&#39;s not a great sign for legalization, unless they outspend (the &#39;no&#39; side) in next few weeks or younger voters&#39; turnout is larger than anticipated.&quot;</p><p><a href="http://www.bizjournals.com/phoenix/news/2016/10/15/discount-tire-gives-1-million-to-campaign-against.html" target="_blank">Discount Tire Kicks in $1 Million to Defeat Arizona Legalization</a>. The Scottsdale-based Discount Tire Company has contributed a million dollars to Arizonans for Responsible Drug Policy, the group leading the &quot;no&quot; campaign against <a href="https://www.regulatemarijuanainarizona.org/prop205/" target="_blank">Prop 205</a>. The company is the largest privately held company in the state, and has also contributed to controversial Sheriff Joe Arpaio. The &quot;no&quot; campaign has also seen recent large donations from Empire Southwest for $200,000 and SAM (Smart About Marijuana) Action for $115,000.</p><p><a href="http://delawarestatenews.net/news/survey-delawareans-support-legal-marijuana" target="_blank">Delaware Poll Has Solid Majority for Legalization</a>. A new poll from the University of Delaware&#39;s Center for Political Communication has support for marijuana legalization at 61%. Only 35% of respondents said they were opposed. The poll comes as state Sen. Margaret Rose Henry (D-Wilmington) says she plans to introduce a legalization bill when the legislature reconvenes.</p><p><a href="https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2016/10/14/sheldon-adelson-donating-million-anti-pot-campaign/93B5Znm6w2jYrZR978oLbP/story.html" target="_blank">Sheldon Adelson Kicks in $1 Million to Defeat Massachusetts Legalization</a>. Las Vegas casino magnate and ultra-conservative philanthropist Sheldon Adelson had donated $1 million to the Campaign for a Safe and Healthy Massachusetts, which is leading the opposition to the <a href="https://www.regulatemassachusetts.org/question4/" target="_blank">Question 4</a> legalization initiative. Even with the Adelson money, however, the &quot;yes&quot; side has out fundraised the &quot;no&quot; side by a margin of two-to-one. Yes on 4 has raised more than $3.3 million, while the opposition has raised only $1.6 million.</p><p><strong>Drug Policy</strong></p><p><a href="http://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2016-election/donald-trump-turns-focus-issues-drugs-criminal-justice-reform-n666956" target="_blank">Trump Talks Drug Policy, Demands Hillary Take Drug Test</a>. Donald Trump sketched out a policy aimed at the heroin and opioid crisis during a speech in New Hampshire Saturday, but it was largely drowned out by his call for Hillary Clinton to undergo a drug test before their next debate. Trump said he suspected she was on something during the last debate. When it came to heroin and opioids, Trump said he would solve the problem by building a wall on the Mexican border, moving to reduce the prescribing of opioid pain medications, and resorting to mandatory minimum sentences for drug offenders.</p><p><strong>International </strong></p><p><a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/snp-conference-medicinal-cannabis-decriminalisation-a7363126.html" target="_blank">Scottish National Party Backs Medical Marijuana</a>.Meeting at its annual national conference, the Scottish National Party backed the medicinal use of marijuana. The vote doesn&#39;t necessarily mean the Scottish government will adopt medical marijuana, and drug policy is an area specifically reserved to the UK national parliament, so that body would have to act as well.</p><p><em>(This article was prepared by StoptheDrugWar.org&#39;s lobbying arm, the Drug Reform Coordination Network, which also pays the cost of maintaining this web site. DRCNet Foundation takes no positions on candidates for public office, in compliance with section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, and does not pay for reporting that could be interpreted or misinterpreted as doing so.)</em></p> </div>
</div>
</div>
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2016/oct/17/chronicle_am_prohibitionists_giv#comments2016BorderCandidates/RacesDrug TestingHeroinMandatory MinimumsMarijuana -- Personal UseNews BriefPollingPrescription OpiatesPublic OpinionMon, 17 Oct 2016 21:20:21 +0000psmith32131 at http://stopthedrugwar.orgChronicle AM: MA Init Leads in New Poll, Iran Ponders End to Drug Death Penalty, More... (10/6/16)http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2016/oct/06/chronicle_am_ma_init_leads_new_p
<div class="field field-type-text field-field-body">
<div class="field-items">
<div class="field-item odd">
<p>We have Massachusetts legalization news today, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker gets slapped down in his bid to drug test food stamp applicants, Iran&#39;s parliament ponders ending the death penalty for drugs, and more.</p><p>[image:1 align:left caption:true]<strong>Marijuana Policy</strong></p><p><a href="http://www.masslive.com/politics/index.ssf/2016/10/wneu_poll_majority_of_voters_b.html" target="_blank">Another Massachusetts Poll Has Legalization Initiative Winning</a>. A new Western New England University Polling Institute poll has the <a href="https://www.regulatemassachusetts.org/question4/" target="_blank">Question 4</a> leading a month out from election day. The poll had support at 55% among all registered voters, with 39% opposed. When it came to likely voters, the initiative&#39;s lead shrunk slightly, with 52% in support and 42% opposed.</p><p><a href="http://www.bostonmagazine.com/news/blog/2016/10/06/aclu-massachusetts-marijuana/" target="_blank">Massachusetts ACLU Report Highlights Continuing Racial Disparities in Marijuana Arrests</a>. Even after decriminalization, people continue to get arrested for marijuana offenses, especially if they&#39;re black, a new ACLU report has found. Black Massachusetts residents were 3.3 times more likely to get popped for pot than white ones even though they use it at the same rate. For marijuana sales offenses, the disparity was even more striking: Blacks were 7.1 times more likely than whites to get busted for peddling pot. &quot;Racial disparities are a disturbing feature of our current marijuana policy. Black people are arrested for marijuana possession at 10 times the rate of white people in some counties -- despite the fact that black people and white people use marijuana at the same rate,&quot; ACLU Racial Justice Director Rahsaan Hall says in a prepared statement. &quot;Taxing and regulating marijuana is an important step towards reducing the harm that current policies cause to people of color, particularly Black people, and it will generate hundreds of millions of dollars in tax revenue that can be reinvested in our communities.&quot;</p><p><strong>Drug Testing</strong></p><p><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/scott-walker-drug-testing_us_57f65f53e4b05f39c51e7aad" target="_blank">Federal Court Rejects Wisconsin&#39;s Bid to Drug Test Food Stamp Applicants</a>. A federal judge in Washington has rejected a challenge from Gov. Scott Walker (R) to a federal law that blocks states from drug testing food stamp applicants. Walker had challenged the policy last year as he launched a doomed presidential bid, but the federal judge ruled that Wisconsin filed its complaint too soon, before it had actually implemented the policy, and without giving the Obama administration a chance to formally reject it.</p><p><strong>International</strong></p><p><a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/us-afghanistan-opium-idUSKCN12526A" target="_blank">Afghan Opium Production Expands to Near Record Levels</a>. The UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) reported Wednesday that opium production this year to one of the highest levels on record. Illicit cultivation has expanded to nearly half a million acres, making it one of the biggest years for poppy since 1994, when the UNODC began estimating the crop size. The all-time record is about 600,000 acres, reported in 2014.</p><p><a href="http://www.iraqinews.com/iraq-war/iraqi-forces-burn-land-belong-isis-planted-opium-poppies/" target="_blank">Iraqi Forces Burn ISIS Opium Poppy Crop</a>. Iraqi security forces Wednesday burned a four square acre field planted with opium poppies belonging to ISIS in Salahuddin province. The move was described as an effort to cut ISIS financing through the opium and heroin trade. Iraqi officials said ISIS used laboratories at Mosul University to process the raw opium into heroin.</p><p><a href="http://www.latimes.com/world/la-fg-iran-death-penalty-20161006-snap-story.html" target="_blank">Iran Moving to End Death Penalty for Drug Offenses</a>. One of the world&#39;s leading drug executioners may be about the change its ways. A bill that would end capital punishment for drug trafficking now has the support of a majority in the parliament. If the parliament actually approves the bill, it would have to be ratified by the Guardian Council of Islamic jurists, which has opposed any relaxation of the country&#39;s death penalty regime. But executing drug smugglers &quot;will not benefit the people or the country,&quot; said Yahya Kamalpur, deputy head of the parliamentary legal and judicial committee. Parliament &quot;wants to eliminate the death penalty for criminals who [smuggle narcotics] out of desperation&quot; and replace it with long prison sentences or hard labor. We are after a scientific and not emotional solution in confronting drug smugglers,&quot; he said.</p><p><a href="https://sputniknews.com/art_living/20161006/1046049712/denmark-marijuana-green-light.html" target="_blank">Danes to Consider Bill Easing Marijuana-Impaired Driving Rules</a>. A bill filed in the parliament this week would the country&#39;s zero tolerance policy toward drivers with marijuana in their systems in favor of a &quot;stepladder&quot; approach in which the penalty for driving while impaired would depend on the level of marijuana in the driver&#39;s system. Under current law, driving with marijuana in one&#39;s system can result in the loss of a driver&#39;s license for three years. That&#39;s too much for bill sponsor Jan Jorgensen of the Liberal Party. &quot;You can actually drive pretty well, even after having smoked hash. There is obviously a limit to how much, but we believe a minimum threshold should be introduced now,&quot; he said. &quot;The problem is that we have punished a lot of people who have not been of any danger to traffic at all, simply because they might have smoked marijuana a fortnight ago, and it still could be measured in the blood.&quot;</p> </div>
</div>
</div>
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2016/oct/06/chronicle_am_ma_init_leads_new_p#comments2016Court RulingsDeath PenaltyDrivingDrug TestingFederal CourtsMarijuana -- Personal UseMarijuana LegalizationNews BriefOpium ProductionPollingRaceState & Local Executive BranchesWelfareThu, 06 Oct 2016 20:37:19 +0000psmith32120 at http://stopthedrugwar.orgChronicle AM: DOD Could Become More Flexible on Marijuana, MI MedMJ Regs Pass, More... (9/15/16)http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2016/sep/15/chronicle_am_dod_could_become_mo
<div class="field field-type-text field-field-body">
<div class="field-items">
<div class="field-item odd">
<p>Defense Secretary Ashton Carter seems pretty mellow about marijuana, more workers are testing positive for illegal drugs, medical marijuana advances in Massachusetts, Michigan, and New Jersey, and more.</p><p>[image:1 align:left caption:true]<strong>Marijuana Policy</strong></p><p><a href="https://thinkprogress.org/defense-secretary-says-pentagon-should-relax-about-weed-88b859f5b019" target="_blank">Defense Secretary Hints Pentagon Could Relax When It Comes to Hiring Marijuana Users</a>. Responding to a hypothetical question at TechCrunch&#39;s Disrupt SF event on Tuesday, Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter said the military should be more flexible when it comes to hiring people who have used marijuana or other illicit drugs. When asked if he would be willing to hire someone who &quot;[partook] in some goodies&quot; at Burning Man when looking for engineers, Carter replied: &quot;It depends on what the goodies are. It&#39;s a very good question and we are changing that, in recognition of the fact that times change and generations change and by the way, laws change as respect to marijuana. In that and many other ways, we need to, while protecting ourselves and doing the appropriate things to make sure that it&#39;s safe to entrust information with people, we need to understand -- and we do -- the way people [and] lives have changed, not hold against them things that they&#39;ve done when they were younger. It&#39;s an important question and the answer is yes, we can be flexible in that regard, and we need to,&quot; he concluded.</p><p><a href="http://krvn.com/regional-news/nebraska-marijuana-groups-begin-petitioning-for-2018-ballot-2/" target="_blank">Nebraska Marijuana Activists Begin Working on 2018</a>. Two separate initiative campaigns, one aimed at decriminalization and one aimed at legalization, are getting underway with an eye toward making the 2018 ballot. The decriminalization proposal started signature gathering last month; the legalization campaign is awaiting approval from the secretary of state&#39;s office to begin signature gathering.</p><p><strong>Medical Marijuana</strong></p><p><a href="https://www.bostonglobe.com/2016/09/14/state-moves-make-easier-for-patients-get-medical-marijuana/2AGfM8TIQOWWQHRchGY53O/story.html" target="_blank">Massachusetts Moves to Ease Medical Marijuana Access</a>. State regulators Wednesday released draft rules that would make it easier for patients to gain access to medical marijuana. The rules would allow nurse practitioners to certify patients for medical marijuana, allow dispensaries to post prices on their websites, and allow dispensaries to deliver to patients in nursing homes, hospices, and other health care facilities. &quot;Our goal is safety, transparency, and access for patients who need this,&quot; said Dr. Monica Bharel, commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, which oversees the state&#39;s medical marijuana program. &quot;This is an evolving process,&quot; Bharel said, &quot;both in Massachusetts and nationally.&quot; The proposed rules were presented to the Public Health Council, which will give final approval, but not before a public hearing expected this fall.</p><p><a href="https://www.cannabisindustryjournal.com/news_article/michigan-house-approves-bills-state-set-to-regulate-medical-cannabis/" target="_blank">Michigan House Gives Final Approval to Medical Marijuana Regulation Package</a>. The House voted Wednesday in concurrence with last week&#39;s Senate vote approving a series of bills that would create a regulatory framework for medical marijuana that explicitly allows for dispensaries to operate. It also creates a licensing system for patients, growers, and dispensaries and establishes a 3% tax on retail sales. The package of bills now goes to the desk of Gov. Rick Snyder (R), who is expected to sign it into law.</p><p><a href="https://thejointblog.com/new-jersey-governor-signs-bill-adding-ptsd-qualifying-medical-cannabis-condition/" target="_blank">New Jersey Governor Signs Bill Adding PTSD as Qualifying Condition</a>. Gov. Chris Christie (R) Wednesday signed into law <a href="https://legiscan.com/NJ/bill/A457/2016" target="_blank_">Assembly Bill 457</a>, which will allow people with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) to use medical marijuana. The bill passed the legislature overwhelmingly a month and a half ago.</p><p><strong>Drug Testing</strong></p><p>Quest Diagnostics, one of the country&#39;s largest drug testing laboratories, reports that the percentage of workers testing positive for illegal drugs has been increasing for the past three years after decades of decline. Some 4% of all 11 million drug tests came back positive. Positive tests results for marijuana have increased 26% since 2011 and account for almost half (45%) of all positives. But heroin positives jumped 146% in the same period.</p> </div>
</div>
</div>
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2016/sep/15/chronicle_am_dod_could_become_mo#commentsDrug TestingEmploymentExecutive BranchMarijuana -- Personal UseMarijuana IndustryMarijuana LegalizationMedical MarijuanaNews BriefState & Local Executive BranchesState & Local LegislaturesThu, 15 Sep 2016 19:58:03 +0000psmith32092 at http://stopthedrugwar.orgChronicle AM: House GOP Wants Unemployment Drug Tests, MI Senate OKs Dispensaries, More... (9/9/16)http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2016/sep/09/chronicle_am_house_gop_wants_une
<div class="field field-type-text field-field-body">
<div class="field-items">
<div class="field-item odd">
<p>House Republicans unleash another drug testing for benefits campaign, marijuana legalization foes start making moves, Michigan has moved a big step closer to explicitly allowing dispensaries, and more.</p><p>[image:1 align:left caption:true]<strong>Marijuana Policy</strong></p><p><a href="https://www.leafly.com/news/politics/alaska-cannabis-regulators-ok-first-retail-license" target="_blank">Alaska Approves First Permit for Retail Pot Shop</a>. The state&#39;s Marijuana Control Board Thursday approved the first permit for a retail marijuana store. The permit went to Frozen Budz in Fairbanks. Co-owner Destiny Neade said she hoped to be open by October 1. &quot;Now all I need is some herb,&quot; she said. The board was also considering 16 other permit applications.</p><p><a href="http://www.latimes.com/politics/essential/la-pol-sac-essential-politics-updates-millionaire-gives-to-campaign-against-1473448537-htmlstory.html" target="_blank">California Anti-Legalization Effort Gets Big Gift from Pennsylvania Millionaire</a>. Pennsylvania millionaire Julie Schauer has donated $1.3 million to the anti-legalization Smart Approaches to Marijuana/No on 64 campaign committee. Most of the money will be used to try to defeat the <a href="http://www.yeson64.org" target="_blank">Prop 64</a> legalization initiative, but some will go to fight legalization campaigns in other states, too. Schauer&#39;s money made up most of the $64,000 that has gone to a separate committee opposing Prop 64. That committee has only raised $300,000, while committees supporting Prop 64 have raised more than $6 million.</p><p><a href="http://www.pressherald.com/2016/09/09/maine-police-chiefs-group-opposes-marijuana-legalization-question-on-november-ballot/" target="_blank">Maine Police Chiefs Oppose Legalization Initiative</a>. The Maine Chiefs of Police Association Friday formally announced its opposition to the <a href="http://www.regulatemaine.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/initiative-text.pdf" target="_blank">Question 1</a> legalization initiative. &quot;We&#39;re concerned about the effect (legalization) may have on the communities and the youth after looking at what&#39;s happened in Colorado,&quot; said Falmouth Police Chief Edward Tolan, incoming president of the association. &quot;That&#39;s what prompted us to take this position as police chiefs.&quot;</p><p><a href="http://www.mlive.com/news/index.ssf/2016/09/federal_lawsuit_by_pot_petitio.html" target="_blank">Michigan Legalizers Ask Federal Court to Intervene in Signature Dispute</a>. A day after being turned away by the state Supreme Court, the <a href="http://www.milegalize.com/" target="_blank">MI Legalize</a> campaign has filed a lawsuit in federal court seeking to block the printing of state election ballots until disputed petition signatures are counted. The group handed in enough signatures to qualify for the ballot, but some of them were gathered outside a 180-day period and not counted, keeping the measure off the ballot. MI Legalize has gotten nowhere in the state courts. Ballots were supposed to be printed today.</p><p><strong>Medical Marijuana </strong></p><p><a href="http://www.toledoblade.com/Nation/2016/09/08/Michigan-Senate-approves-medical-marijuana-tax-regulations-Tiered-licensing-system-under-legislation-clears-big-hurdle.html" target="_blank">Michigan Senate Passes Industry Regulation Bill Allowing Dispensaries</a>. The state Senate Thursday passed a bill that would tax and regulate medical marijuana businesses and explicitly allow for dispensaries. The bill would set a 3% tax on dispensaries&#39; gross retail income, require licensing to grow, process, transport, and sell medical marijuana, and explicitly allow for forms of medical marijuana that include infused, non-smokable forms of the herb. The House approved much of this package almost a year ago. Now, it goes to the desk of Gov. Ricky Snyder (R).</p><p><strong>Drug Testing</strong></p><p><a href="http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/gop-makes-new-push-to-drug-test-unemployment-applicants/article/2601279" target="_blank">House Republicans in New Push to Drug Test Unemployment Applicants</a>. House Republicans are pushing a new bill that would give states the option of forcing drug tests on applicants for unemployment benefits. They say the bill is needed because a Labor Department rule bars states from using a 2012 law to do so. The measure is <a href="https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/114/hr5945" target="_blank">HR 5945</a>, sponsored by Rep. Kevin Brady (R-TX).</p><p><strong>International </strong></p><p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/sep/09/canada-marijuana-us-travel-ban" target="_blank">Canada Wants US to End Travel Ban on Residents Who Smoke Pot</a>. The case of a Canadian man barred from entering the US because he admitted to recreational marijuana use has provoked the Canadian government to seek a re-set of US border policy. &quot;We obviously need to intensify our discussions with our border authorities in the United States, including the Department of Homeland Security,&quot; the public safety minister, Ralph Goodale, said in an interview with the Canadian Broadcasting Corp late on Thursday. &quot;This does seem to be a ludicrous situation,&quot; he said, noting that marijuana is legal in Washington state as well as &quot;three or four other jurisdictions in the United States.&quot; First, though, Canada might want to work on its own border policy; it bars US pot smokers from entering the country.</p> </div>
</div>
</div>
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2016/sep/09/chronicle_am_house_gop_wants_une#comments2016CanadaCongressDrug TestingEmploymentFederal CourtsMarijuana -- Personal UseMarijuana IndustryMarijuana LegalizationMedical MarijuanaNews BriefState & Local Executive BranchesState & Local LegislaturesFri, 09 Sep 2016 21:02:02 +0000psmith32084 at http://stopthedrugwar.orgChronicle AM: MI Init Nixed, MedMJ Legal in OH, Cartels Shoot Down Mexican Chopper, More.. (9/8/16)http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2016/sep/08/chronicle_am_mi_init_nixed_medmj
<div class="field field-type-text field-field-body">
<div class="field-items">
<div class="field-item odd">
<p>Alaska cannabis cafes are delayed again, Michigan legalizers strike out in court, Ohio becomes the latest medical marijuana state, and more.</p><p>[image:1 align:left caption:true]<strong>Marijuana Policy</strong></p><p><a href="http://www.adn.com/alaska-marijuana/2016/09/07/decisions-on-alaska-cannabis-cafes-pushed-back-at-marijuana-control-board-meeting/" target="_blank">Alaska Regulators Again Delay Decision on Cannabis Cafes</a>. The state&#39;s Marijuana Control Board first issued draft rules for an &quot;on-site consumption endorsement&quot; for pot shops back in May, but month&#39;s later the rules haven&#39;t been finalized, and the board has now decided it will not even take up the issue again for another seven weeks. At least one board member, Brandon Emmett, accused the board of trying to avoid allowing consumption at cannabis cafes. &quot;We can spin it however we want, but it&#39;s becoming quite apparent that there is an effort by this board to stamp out consumption anywhere other than one&#39;s home,&quot; Emmett said.</p><p><a href="http://www.mlive.com/news/index.ssf/2016/09/michigan_supreme_court_wont_de_1.html" target="_blank">Michigan Supreme Court Nixes Legalization Initiative&#39;s Appeal</a>. It&#39;s official: There will be no legalization initiative on the ballot in November. The state Supreme Court Wednesday denied an appeal over signature gathering rules from initiative sponsors <a href="http://www.milegalize.com/" target="_blank">MI Legalize</a>. The group had sought to have signatures counted that were gathered outside a 180-day limit, but state courts, now including the highest court, have ruled against them.</p><p><strong>Medical Marijuana </strong></p><p><a href="http://www.10tv.com/article/medical-marijuana-ohio-becomes-legal-thursday-patients-have-long-wait" target="_blank">Medical Marijuana Now Legal in Ohio, But&hellip;</a> As of today, medical marijuana is legal in the Buckeye State, but it could be years before it legally gets into the hands of patients. The state must first create a system to grow, distribute, and regulate medical marijuana. The state has 30 days to appoint a Marijuana Control Commission, which will then have 240 days to set up rules around the fledgling industry. And actually getting businesses up and running and crops in the ground will take even longer.</p><p><strong>Heroin and Prescription Opioids</strong></p><p><a href="http://www.foxnews.com/us/2016/09/07/ohio-county-offers-immunity-to-people-turning-in-deadly-drugs-as-heroin-epidemic-rages.html" target="_blank">Ohio County Will Offer Immunity to People Turning in Heroin, Opioids</a>. Hamilton County (Cincinnati) Prosecutor Joe Deters has asked for blanket immunity from prosecution for anyone turning in heroin or other deadly drugs, and Common Pleas Court Presiding Judge Robert Ruelman has agreed to the move. The move comes as the region grapples with high levels of heroin and opioid misuse.</p><p><strong>Drug Testing</strong></p><p><a href="http://www.courthousenews.com/2016/09/08/teachers-fight-d-c-s-random-drug-tests.htm" target="_blank">DC Private Schools Sue Over Random Drug Tests of Teachers</a>. The Association of Independent Schools of Greater Washington has sued the District of Columbia for threatening to pull their licenses if they do not subject their teachers to &quot;random and suspicionless&quot; drug testing. Under a DC law, some employees in &quot;safety sensitive&quot; positions in &quot;child development facilities&quot; are required to undergo random drug tests. Some of the private schools in the association have &quot;child development facility&quot; licenses. Until 2013, elementary and secondary schools were exempt from the requirement, but that year, DC issued a memo requiring the schools to employ random drug testing. That&#39;s what the schools are suing over.</p><p><strong>International </strong></p><p><a href="http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/news/2016/09/07/mexico-gunmen-in-hotbed-drug-cartel-activity-shoot-down-police-helicopter-kill/">Mexican Police Helicopter Shot Down Over Michoacan</a> Three police officers and the pilot were killed when suspected cartel members shot down their chopper near Apatzingan, Michoacan on Tuesday. The area has been a hotbed of cartel activity, as well as the scene of armed conflict between the cartels and (sometimes) government-supported vigilantes. This is the worst helicopter attack since May 2015, when gunmen in Jalisco brought down a military helicopter, killing ten soldiers.</p> </div>
</div>
</div>
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2016/sep/08/chronicle_am_mi_init_nixed_medmj#comments2016Court RulingsDrug TestingEmploymentMarijuana -- Personal UseMarijuana IndustryMarijuana LegalizationMedical MarijuanaMexican Drug WarNews BriefProsecutionState & Local Executive BranchesState CourtsThu, 08 Sep 2016 20:28:31 +0000psmith32080 at http://stopthedrugwar.orgChronicle AM: Denver Pot Social Use Init Makes Ballot, Kratom Fight Gathers Steam, More... (9/6/16)http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2016/sep/06/chronicle_am_denver_pot_social_u
<div class="field field-type-text field-field-body">
<div class="field-items">
<div class="field-item odd">
<p>Big city Texas prosecutors are increasingly dropping small-time pot cases, a Denver social use marijuana initiative qualifies for the ballot, kratom proponents move to block the DEA effort to place it on Schedule I, and more, including lots of international items.</p><p>[image:1 align:left caption:true]<strong>Marijuana Policy</strong></p><p><a href="http://www.star-telegram.com/news/state/texas/article99948897.html" target="_blank">Texas Big City Prosecutors Are Dismissing Small-Time Marijuana Cases</a>. Prosecutors in the state&#39;s five most populous counties -- Bexar (San Antonio), Dallas, Harris (Houston), Tarrant (Ft. Worth), and Travis (Austin) -- are increasingly dismissing small-time pot possession charges. In Ft. Worth, the number of cases dropped rose from 9% in 2011 to 25% last year. In Dallas, the number dropped rose from 18% to 41% in the same period. Travis County prosecutors Dan Hamre explained. &quot;Jurors would look at us like we are crazy,&quot; he said. &quot;&#39;You are spending your time, our time and the court&#39;s time on a small amount of personal marijuana?&#39;&quot;</p><p><a href="http://thejointblog.com/over-1000-signatures-on-petition-to-end-cannabis-felonies" target="_blank">Washington State Campaign to End Marijuana Possession Felonies Underway</a>. Under marijuana legalization via I-502, the stat legalized the possession of up to 28 grams of pot, but possession of 40 grams or more remains a felony. A <a href="https://www.change.org/p/petition-tell-washington-state-lawmakers-to-end-felonies-for-personal-cannabis-possession" target="_blank">Change.org petition</a> calling on state lawmakers to fix the law is now underway. It has more than a thousand signatures in ten days, but could always use more.</p><p><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/denver-marijuana-public-use_us_57c89260e4b0a22de09523a7" target="_blank">Denver Marijuana Social Club Initiative Qualifies for Ballot</a>. An <a href="http://limitedsocialuse.org/initiative/" target="_blank">initiative</a> from the Denver Social Use Campaign has qualified for the November ballot. It would allow for the creation of &quot;designated consumption areas&quot; for marijuana use. Permits would be open to a broad range of businesses, and could cover a single event or be good for up to a year. Patrons would have to bring their own buds, though, since sales would not be allowed.</p><p><strong>Medical Marijuana </strong></p><p><a href="http://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2016/sep/03/2nd-rx-pot-lawsuit-cites-signature-gath/" target="_blank">Second Arkansas Lawsuit Challenges Medical Marijuana Initiative</a>. A Little Rock attorney who is <a href="http://www.marijuana.com/blog/news/2016/09/norml-member-tries-to-kick-medical-marijuana-off-arkansas-ballot/" target="_blank">a member of NORML&#39;s National Legal Committee</a> has filed a lawsuit seeking to knock the <a href="http://www.arcompassion.com/read_the_amca" target="_blank">Arkansas Medical Cannabis Act</a> off the November ballot. In the lawsuit, attorney Kara Benca asked the court to invalidate some 15,000 voter signatures, which would disqualify the initiative. A second initiative, the <a href="http://medicalmarijuana.procon.org/sourcefiles/arkansas-medical-marijuana-act.pdf" target="_blank">Arkansas Medical Marijuana Amendment</a>, has also qualified for the ballot. If both pass, the won with the most votes wins.</p><p><strong>Drug Policy</strong></p><p><a href="https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/please-do-not-make-kratom-schedule-i-substance" target="_blank">Petition Drive to Undo Making Kratom Schedule I is Underway</a>. In response to the DEA&#39;s announcement it was moving to make kratom&#39;s active ingredients Schedule I, fans of the opioid substitute have begun a <a href="https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/please-do-not-make-kratom-schedule-i-substance" target="_blank">Change.org petition</a> asking the White House to intervene. The White House must respond if the petition hits 100,000 signatures by month&#39;s end. So far, it has nearly 70,000. The American Kratom Association also says it is pondering a lawsuit to block the move.</p><p><strong>International </strong></p><p><a href="https://www.pedestrian.tv/news/health-and-fitness/hell-yeah-medicinal-cannabis-to-be-legalised-natio/b2db5271-0d94-411e-b7eb-d816da8ac25b.htm" target="_blank">Australia Will Legalize Medical Marijuana in November</a>. The Therapeutic Goods Administration has made it official. The agency has now formally announced it will move medical marijuana from Schedule 9 (prohibited substances) to Schedule 8 (controlled drugs). The change will go into effect in November.</p><p><a href="http://www.foxnews.com/world/2016/09/03/bolivia-proposes-prison-time-for-illegal-coca-production.html" target="_blank">Bolivian Government Proposes Prison Time for Illegal Coca Cultivation</a>. Vice Minister for Social Defense Felipe Caceres announced Friday that the government is proposing a bill that would make illegal coca production a crime punishable by up to three years in prison. Under current law, illegal cultivators face no prison time, only the destruction of their crops.</p><p><a href="http://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/Colombias-Attorney-General-Calls-for-Renewed-Aerial-Fumigation-20160905-0024.html" target="_blank">Colombia Attorney General Calls for Renewed Aerial Eradication of Coca Crops</a>. Attorney General Nestor Humberto Martinez has released a report calling for a resumption of aerial spraying of coca groups with herbicides. The government ended that policy las year, citing health risks, as well as a desire to emphasize public health and human rights in its drug policies. But an expansion of coca production has the government signaling it may change its tune.</p><p><a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/us-denmark-christiania-drugs-idUSKCN1181GJ" target="_blank">Denmark&#39;s Christiania Residents Tear Down Hash Stalls After Police Shot and Wounded</a>. Christiania has long been the go-to place to score hash in Copenhagen, but after a known drug seller opened fire on police last week, wounding two, residents of the hippie enclave began tearing down dealers&#39; stalls, saying they feared organized crime was moving in. &quot;If they start building up the booths again tonight, then well, we&#39;re here tonight as well. The plan is to continue tearing them down until it works,&quot; Christiania resident Helene Schou said. &quot;I&#39;m not saying hash should disappear completely from Christiania, but we needed a kiosk and what we had was a supermarket.&quot;</p><p><a href="http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/philippines-make-drug-tests-mandatory-entering-college-1579285" target="_blank">Philippines Will Make Drug Tests Mandatory for College Students</a>. In the latest move in President Rodrigo Duterte&#39;s murderous war on drugs, his administration has announced it will seek to make students entering college undergo drug tests beginning next year. More than 2,400 people accused of being drug users or sellers have been killed in Duterte&#39;s two months in office, and his administration has instituted broad drug testing of police and politicians, among others.</p> </div>
</div>
</div>
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2016/sep/06/chronicle_am_denver_pot_social_u#comments2016Andean Drug WarCivil ConflictCocaDEADrug TestingHashishKratomMarijuana -- Personal UseMarijuana LegalizationMedical MarijuanaNews BriefPolice/Suspect AltercationsProsecutionState & Local Executive BranchesTue, 06 Sep 2016 20:53:34 +0000psmith32078 at http://stopthedrugwar.orgChronicle AM: WA Legal MJ Sales Top $1 Billion, AR Welfare Drug Testing Flop, More... (8/5/16)http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2016/aug/05/washington_legal_marijuana_sales
<div class="field field-type-text field-field-body">
<div class="field-items">
<div class="field-item odd">
<p>Arizona legalizers fight a lawsuit aimed at knocking them off the ballot, Washington rakes in the tax revenue from legal pot, asset forfeiture is in the news in California and New York, and more.</p><p>[image:1 align:left caption:true]<strong>Marijuana Policy</strong></p><p><a href="http://kjzz.org/content/345530/pro-recreational-marijuana-group-wants-lawsuit-tossed" target="_blank">Arizona Legalization Campaign Wants Lawsuit Tossed</a>. The group behind the state&#39;s legalization <a href="https://www.regulatemarijuanainarizona.org/prop205/" target="_blank">initiative</a> has asked a judge to throw out a lawsuit filed by foes seeking to keep the measure off the November ballot. The Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol argued that the effort is more about politics and ideology than ensuring state law is followed. Foes argued that the ballot measure&#39;s summary language does not describe everything the initiative would do. Both sides will be in court a week from today.</p><p><a href="http://www.kgw.com/news/local/marijuana/lawmakers-voice-criticism-of-federal-marijuana-prosecutions-in-oregon/286932647" target="_blank">In Face of Uproar, Oregon US Attorney Drops Federal Marijuana Charge Against Teen for One Gram of Weed</a>. Rather than prosecute Devontre Thomas, 19, for possession of a gram of marijuana, federal prosecutors have agreed to enter him into a pretrial diversion program. The move comes after Oregon elected officials said the prosecution was overkill.</p><p><a href="http://www.bellinghamherald.com/news/politics-government/marijuana/article93822097.html" target="_blank">Washington State Sees Legal Marijuana Sales Push Past Billion Dollar Mark</a>. After a sharp jump in adult sales last month as medical dispensaries were shut down, the state has now seen pot sales edge past a billion dollars, if revenue from processors and producers is included. The state has collected $273 million in excise taxes on the sales since they began two years ago.</p><p><strong>Asset Forfeiture</strong></p><p><a href="http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-pol-sac-deal-reached-police-seizures-20160804-snap-story.html" target="_blank">California Asset Forfeiture Reform Bill Set to Move After Compromise</a>. After discussions with law enforcement groups, state Sen. Holly Mitchell (D-Los Angeles) has amended her asset forfeiture reform bill, <a href="https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201520160SB443" target="_blank">Senate Bill 443</a>, so that only property seizures worth less than $40,000 would require a criminal conviction before permanent seizure. Seizures higher than that amount would not require that standard of proof. Mitchell said the compromise would allow police to preserve their ability to go after large criminal enterprises. The police groups have now dropped their opposition to the bill.</p><p><a href="http://reason.com/blog/2016/08/04/nypd-sued-for-refusing-to-reveal-data-on" target="_blank">NYPD Sued for Failure to Release Asset Forfeiture Data</a>. NYPD collected more than $6 million in asset forfeiture revenues in 2013, but is ignoring records requests for information on how it collects and distributes the cash it seizes, according to a lawsuit filed Thursday by a legal aid group representing low-income people. The group, Bronx Defenders, had submitted a public records request nearly two years, but NYPD has been unresponsive, the lawsuit alleges.</p><p><strong>Drug Testing</strong></p><p><a href="http://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2016/aug/05/state-drug-test-program-leads-to-denial/" target="_blank">Arkansas Welfare Drug Test Program Finds Hardly Any Drug Users</a>. According to data released this week by the Department of Workforce Services, exactly one welfare applicant out of 800 has failed a drug test. Another four refused to take it, rendering them temporarily ineligible for benefits. All five taken together constitute 0.63% of welfare applicants. The one failed drug test means 0.125% of all applicants tested positive. Arkansas and other states that have enacted such laws have done so on the unspoken assumption that welfare applicants are using drugs at the taxpayers&#39; expense, but, once again, that has proven not to be the case.</p> </div>
</div>
</div>
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2016/aug/05/washington_legal_marijuana_sales#comments2016Asset ForfeitureBudgets/Taxes/EconomicsDrug TestingExecutive BranchLaw EnforcementMarijuana -- Personal UseMarijuana IndustryMarijuana LegalizationNews BriefState & Local Executive BranchesState & Local LegislaturesState CourtsWelfareFri, 05 Aug 2016 20:43:31 +0000psmith32037 at http://stopthedrugwar.orgChronicle AM: Greece Moves Toward MedMJ, Italy to Debate Marijuana Legalization, More... (7/21/16)http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2016/jul/21/chronicle_am_greece_moves_toward
<div class="field field-type-text field-field-body">
<div class="field-items">
<div class="field-item odd">
<p>There&#39;s a job opening for an experienced marijuana activist in DC, Libertarian Gary Johnson endorses California&#39;s legalization initiative, three European countries are making marijuana policy moves, and more.</p><p>[image:1 align:right caption:true]<strong>Marijuana Policy</strong></p><p><a href="http://www.sacbee.com/news/politics-government/capitol-alert/article90984682.html" target="_blank">Libertarian Presidential Candidate Endorses California Legalization Initiative</a>. Former Republican New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson, who heads the Libertarian Party presidential ticket, has endorsed California&#39;s <a href="http://www.yeson64.org/news/executive-summary" target="_blank">Prop 64</a> legalization initiative. &quot;Why do I support it?&quot; Johnson responded to a question while leaving the Republican National Convention. &quot;Whether you agree with marijuana legalization or not, you have friends, family, coworkers that use marijuana,&quot; the former New Mexico governor said. &quot;Are they criminal? No, they&#39;re not criminal.&quot; California Democrats have already endorsed the measure, and the national Democratic Party recently adopted a &quot;pathway to legalization&quot; as part of its platform. The Republicans, on the other hand, recently rejected supporting even medical marijuana.</p><p><a href="http://blog.norml.org/2016/07/20/norml-seeks-new-executive-director/" target="_blank">Job Opening: NORML Seeks a New Director</a>. In the wake of the resignation of long-time executive director Allen St. Pierre, the nation&#39;s largest marijuana consumer group is seeking a new leader. Click on the link for information about job requirements and more.</p><p><strong>Drug Testing</strong></p><p><a href="http://www.esrcheck.com/wordpress/2016/07/21/osha-electronic-accident-reporting-rule-could-affect-post-injury-drug-testing-by-employers/" target="_blank">New OSHA Rule Warns on Blanket After-Injury Drug Testing</a>. The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has issued a <a href="https://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2016/05/12/2016-10443/improve-tracking-of-workplace-injuries-and-illnesses" target="_blank">final rule</a> for the electronic submission of injury and illness data for certain employers, and in doing so, the agency warns that &quot;OSHA believes the evidence in the rulemaking record shows that blanket post-injury drug testing policies deter proper reporting.&quot; Policies mandating automatic post-injury drug testing can discourage reporting of accidents and injuries, OSHA said, adding that blanket testing may be inappropriate: <em>&quot;</em><em>Although drug testing of employees may be a reasonable workplace policy in some situations, it is often perceived as an invasion of privacy, so if an injury or illness is very unlikely to have been caused by employee drug use, or if the method of drug testing does not identify impairment but only use at some time in the recent past, requiring the employee to be drug tested may inappropriately deter reporting. To strike the appropriate balance here, drug testing policies should limit post-incident testing to situations in which employee drug use is likely to have contributed to the incident, and for which the drug test can accurately identify impairment caused by drug use.&quot;</em></p><p><strong>Law Enforcement</strong></p><p><a href="http://www.cortezjournal.com/article/20160720/AP/307209713/Marylanddropsplantohaltdrugsmugglingbybanningletterstoprisoners" target="_blank">Maryland Gives Up on Plan to Ban Letters to Prisoners to Fight Drug Smuggling</a>. State corrections officials have withdrawn a proposed ban on sending letters to prison inmates in an a bid to stop the smuggling of drugs that can be soaked into photos and paper. Public Safety and Correctional Services Secretary Stephen Moyer had proposed the idea last month, but has now folded in the face of opposition from lawmakers and civil liberties advocates, who called the ban extreme and unconstitutional.</p><p><strong>International</strong></p><p><a href="http://enewspf.com/2016/07/21/italian-parliament-consider-marijuana-legalization" target="_blank">Italian Parliament Takes Up Marijuana Legalization on Monday</a>. The Chamber of Deputies is expected to debate a <a href="http://www.cannabislegale.org/proposta-di-legge/" target="_blank">legalization bill</a> on Monday. The bill would legalize the possession of up to 15 grams at home and five grams outside the home, the cultivation of up to five plants for personal use, the creation of cannabis social clubs, and a regulated and licensed marijuana industry in the country.</p><p><a href="http://www.rte.ie/news/2016/0721/803789-education-ombudsman-debate/" target="_blank">Medical Marijuana Bill Filed in Ireland</a>. An opposition member of the Dail has introduced a medical marijuana bill. Deputy Brid Smith of the Anti-Austerity Alliance/People Before Profit Party filed the measure, which envisions a Cannabis Regulation Authority and a licensing regime. The bill will be debated later as a private member&#39;s bill.</p><p><a href="http://greece.greekreporter.com/2016/07/21/cannabis-for-medical-use-to-be-legalized-in-greece/" target="_blank">Greece Moving Forward on Medical Marijuana</a>. The Health Ministry this week announced the formation of a working group of academics, psychiatrists, and scientific and legal advisers for the prime minister, the health ministry, and the justice ministry to begin examining issues around medical marijuana. The group&#39;s task is to propose feasible regulations for medical marijuana, and it is charged to submit its proposals by the end of October.</p><p><em>(This article was prepared by StoptheDrugWar.org&#39;s lobbying arm, the Drug Reform Coordination Network, which also pays the cost of maintaining this web site. DRCNet Foundation takes no positions on candidates for public office, in compliance with section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, and does not pay for reporting that could be interpreted or misinterpreted as doing so.)</em></p> </div>
</div>
</div>
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2016/jul/21/chronicle_am_greece_moves_toward#comments2016Candidates/RacesDrug TestingEmploymentExecutive BranchLaw EnforcementMarijuana -- Personal UseMarijuana LegalizationMedical MarijuanaNews BriefPolitics Outside USState & Local Executive BranchesThu, 21 Jul 2016 20:49:21 +0000psmith32027 at http://stopthedrugwar.orgChronicle AM: AR MedMJ Makes Ballot, Roadside Drug Tests Send Innocent to Jail, More... (7/7/16)http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2016/jul/07/chronicle_am_ar_medmj_makes_ball
<div class="field field-type-text field-field-body">
<div class="field-items">
<div class="field-item odd">
<p>Arkansas will join Florida in voting on medical marijuana in November, California&#39;s Prop 64 legalization initiative just got another $1.25 million from Sean Parker, a major investigative report finds that police field drug tests are shoddy, unreliable, and are sending innocent people to jail and prison, and more.</p><p>[image:1 align:left caption:true]<strong>Marijuana Policy</strong></p><p><a href="http://www.ktuu.com/content/news/Walker-signs-alcohol-bill-with-marijuana-business-provisions-385756891.html" target="_blank">Alaska Governor Signs Bill for National Criminal Background Checks on People Seeking Marijuana Business Licenses</a>. Gov. Bill Walker (R) has signed into law <a href="http://www.akleg.gov/basis/Bill/Detail/29?Root=SB%20165" target="_blank">Senate Bill 165</a>, which will allow state regulators to send fingerprints acquired as part of the application process for marijuana business licenses to the state Department of Public Safety and FBI. Until now, regulators have been issuing licenses based on the applicant&#39;s sworn certification he does not hae a disqualifying criminal history.</p><p><a href="http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-pol-sac-essential-politics-updates-ex-facebook-president-sean-parker-1467917815-htmlstory.html" target="_blank">Sean Parker Kicks in Another $1.25 Million for California Prop 64 Legalization Initiative</a>. Former Facebook president and tech sector billionaire Sean Parker has just doubled his contribution to the <a href="http://www.letsgetitrightca.org/about" target="_blank">Prop 64</a> campaign. Parker donated $1.25 million, bringing his total contributions so far to $2.5 million.</p><p><strong>Medical Marijuana</strong></p><p><a href="http://www.thv11.com/news/politics/ark-medical-cannabis-act-to-be-on-nov-ballot/266523156" target="_blank">Arkansas Medical Cannabis Act Qualifies for November Ballot</a>. Arkansans for Compassionate Care (ACC) has collected enough valid voter signatures to qualify its <a href="http://www.arcompassion.com/read-the-amca" target="_blank">medical marijuana initiative</a> for the November ballot, Secretary of State Mack Martin confirmed Tuesday. A second initiative, the Arkansas Medical Marijuana Amendment, has yet to qualify for the ballot, and ACC is calling on its organizers to end their campaign and join forces.</p><p><a href="http://www.sbsun.com/general-news/20160706/marijuana-dispensary-legalization-to-be-on-san-bernardino-ballot" target="_blank">California: San Bernardino Initiative to Allow Dispensaries Will Go to Voters</a>. The city council voted Tuesday night to put a dispensary regulatory system before the voters in November, even though a majority disapproves of it. Their hand was forced by a petition campaign that gathered more than 6,000 voter signatures. A second, competing proposal may also make the ballot.</p><p><a href="http://www.presstelegram.com/general-news/20160705/medical-marijuana-initiative-qualifies-for-long-beach-ballot" target="_blank">California: Long Beach to Vote on Allowing Dispensaries</a>. City Clerk Maria de la Luz Garcia announced Tuesday that an initiative to allow dispensaries has qualified for the November ballot. A city council member may try to add another ballot measure that would allow dispensaries, but with more restrictions.</p><p><strong>Drug Testing</strong></p><p><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/10/magazine/how-a-2-roadside-drug-test-sends-innocent-people-to-jail.html" target="_blank">Roadside Drug Tests Are Sending Innocent People to Jail</a>. In a major investigative piece, <em>Pro Publica</em> and the <em>New York Times Magazine </em>have collaborated to examine the pervasive use of cheap drug field tests by law enforcement and have found that the test generate huge numbers of false positives, resulting in innocent people being jailed and wrongfully convicted of drug charges. Faced with possible prison sentences, many pleaded guilty to lesser charges despite being innocent of any crime.</p><p><strong>International</strong></p><p><a href="http://www.rawstory.com/2016/07/uruguay-set-to-take-subscriptions-for-state-run-medical-marijuana-operation/" target="_blank">Uruguay Marijuana Consumer Licensing System About to Get Underway</a>. This month, Uruguay will begin signing up pot smokers to buy marijuana from state-licensed pharmacies in the world&#39;s first scheme for state-licensed production and sale of the herb. The first crop is being harvested and should be available for sale by mid-August.</p> </div>
</div>
</div>
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2016/jul/07/chronicle_am_ar_medmj_makes_ball#comments2016ArrestsDrivingDrug TestingMarijuana -- Personal UseMarijuana IndustryMarijuana LegalizationMedical MarijuanaNews BriefState & Local Executive BranchesThu, 07 Jul 2016 21:07:40 +0000psmith32008 at http://stopthedrugwar.orgChronicle AM: MA Init Hands in Signatures, Uruguay's First Legal MJ Harvest, More... (6/22/16)http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2016/jun/22/chronicle_am_ma_init_hands_signa
<div class="field field-type-text field-field-body">
<div class="field-items">
<div class="field-item odd">
<p>Marijuana legalization efforts advance in California and Massachusetts, Iowa Democrats blow minds with a platform plank, Michigan&#39;s welfare drug testing pilot program scores a big fat zero, and more.</p><p>[image:1 align:right caption:true]<strong>Marijuana Policy</strong></p><p><a href="http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-pol-sac-newsom-pot-20160621-snap-story.html" target="_blank">Gavin Newsom Warns California Pot People That Legalization Isn&#39;t a Done Deal</a>. The state&#39;s pro-legalization lieutenant governor told attendees at the National Cannabis Industry Association conference in Oakland Tuesday that they need to get involved in passing the Adult Use of Marijuana Act (<a href="http://www.letsgetitrightca.org/news/executive-summary" target="_blank">AUMA</a>) this November. &quot;It&#39;s not a done deal by any stretch of the imagination,&quot; he said. &quot;We need your help on the campaign.&quot; Newsom added that while tech billionaire Sean Parker is helping, &quot;He&#39;s not going to fund the whole thing. If it is defeated, it will set back this movement in California&hellip; and nationally for years and years.&quot;</p><p><a href="http://www.heraldcourier.com/news/backers-to-file-signatures-for-pot-legalization-question/article_56c886f7-2bec-5470-82ae-d8d58c13684f.html" target="_blank">Massachusetts Legalization Backers Hand in Final Signatures</a>. The Massachusetts Campaign to Regulate Marijuana Like Alcohol Wednesday handed in some 25,000 raw signatures as the campaign moved toward the final step in placing its <a href="https://www.regulatemassachusetts.org/about/initiative/" target="_blank">legalization initiative</a> on the November ballot. The campaign only needs 10,792 valid voter signatures in this second round of signature gathering after the legislature failed to act when the campaign turned in more than 60,000 signatures last year.</p><p><strong>Medical Marijuana</strong></p><p><a href="https://www.govtrack.us/search?q=marijuana+research" target="_blank">Congressional Medical Marijuana Research Bills Filed</a>. The bills announced earlier this week have been filed and given bill numbers. The House version, sponsored by Reps. Andy Harris (R-MD) and Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), is <a href="https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/114/hr5549" target="_blank">HR 5549</a>, while the Senate version, sponsored by Sen. Brian Schatz (D-HI), is <a href="https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/114/s3077" target="_blank">S 3077</a>.</p><p><strong>Drug Policy</strong></p><p><a href="http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/politics/2016/06/21/iowa-democrats-legalize-all-drugs-plank-raises-eyebrows/86206996/" target="_blank">Iowa Democrats&#39; Platform Includes &quot;Legalize All Drugs&quot; Plank</a>. Hawkeye Democrats included the five-word item (&quot;We support legalizing all drugs&quot;) as plank No. 293 in their platform, and that&#39;s raising eyebrows. But activists involved in the debate said that was shorthand for a policy that aims to treat and mitigate drug addiction instead of criminalizing it. &quot;The brevity of the document doesn&#39;t encompass the true meaning,&quot;said Shelly Van Winkle, a registered nurse from Muscatine and newly elected member of the party&#39;s state central committee who was active in the platform debate. Another delegate described it as a &quot;divestment strategy in the drug war.&quot;</p><p><strong>Drug Testing</strong></p><p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/jun/21/michigan-welfare-drug-testing-program" target="_blank">Michigan Welfare Drug Test Program Generates Zero Positives</a>. The state of Michigan has ordered 303 people seeking welfare benefits to undergo drug testing under a pilot program, and not a single one of them has tested positive for illicit drugs. Gov. Rick Snyder (R), who signed the program into law, declined to comment. Similar programs in other states have produced similar results, although not as dramatic as Michigan&#39;s In Tennessee, 65 out of 40,000 applicants tested positive; in Mississippi, two out of 3,656. In Michigan, the people tested were flagged as likely to be using drugs during an initial screening.</p><p><strong>International</strong></p><p><a href="http://www.hightimes.com/read/uruguay-marks-first-legal-cannabis-harves" target="_blank">First Legal Pot Crop Being Harvested in Uruguay</a>. Two companies responsible for marijuana production have begun their first legal harvest, and their product should be hitting the country&#39;s pharmacies &quot;soon,&quot; said Juan Andres Roballo, head of the National Drug Board, which has oversight over the fledgling industry. By August, Uruguayans should be able to buy weed in five- or 10-gram packets, with the price set at $1.20 per gram.</p> </div>
</div>
</div>
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2016/jun/22/chronicle_am_ma_init_hands_signa#comments2016CongressDrug TestingMarijuana -- Personal UseMarijuana IndustryMedical MarijuanaNews BriefPolitics Outside USState & Local Executive BranchesWelfareWed, 22 Jun 2016 20:45:19 +0000psmith31986 at http://stopthedrugwar.orgChronicle AM: UK Public Health Groups Call for Decrim, MPP Endorses Gary Johnson, More... (6/16/16)http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2016/jun/16/chronicle_am_uk_public_health_gr
<div class="field field-type-text field-field-body">
<div class="field-items">
<div class="field-item odd">
<p>Busy, busy: There&#39;s movement on marijuana banking, Gary Johnson picks up MPP&#39;s endorsement, a leading California cannabis oil producer gets busted, the AMA casts on leery eye on patient pain reports, a congresswoman wants to drug test the rich, British public health groups call for decrim, the Thai government wants to end the war on meth, and more.</p><p>[image:1 align:left caption:true]<strong>Marijuana Policy</strong></p><p><a href="http://www.marijuana.com/blog/news/2016/06/senators-ok-banking-access-for-marijuana-businesses/" target="_blank">Senate Committee Approves Measure to Ease Pot Businesses&#39; Access to Financial Services</a>. The Senate Appropriations Committee on Thursday voted 16-14 to approve an amendment that would bar the Treasury Department from punishing banks that do business with state-legal marijuana businesses. The amendment is part of the FY 2017 Financial And General Government Services Appropriations Act, which now heads for a Senate floor vote.</p><p><a href="http://dailycaller.com/2016/06/15/nations-biggest-pro-marijuana-group-endorses-gary-johnson-for-president/" target="_blank">Marijuana Policy Project Endorses Libertarian Gary Johnson for President</a>. MPP has formally endorsed Libertarian Party candidate Gary Johnson for president, saying he was the obvious choice as the most pro-marijuana legalization candidate on the ballot. The group said its endorsement was based solely on his marijuana policies.</p><p><a href="http://assembly.state.ny.us/Press/20160616a" target="_blank">New York Assembly Passes Bill to Seal Records for Misdemeanor Marijuana Convictions</a>. The Assembly has passed <a href="http://assembly.state.ny.us/leg/?bn=A.10092&amp;term=2015" target="_blank">Assembly Bill 10092</a>, which will seal the conviction records of people charged with misdemeanor offenses. Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie said the move was in response to New York City police charging people with misdemeanors for possession of marijuana in public. Simple possession is decriminalized in the state.</p><p><strong>Medical Marijuana</strong></p><p><a href="http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2016/jun/16/leading_california_medical_marij" target="_blank">Leading California Medical Marijuana Oil Maker Busted</a>.Police, including DEA agents, raided five properties associated with a well-known medical marijuana products manufacturer in Northern California&#39;s Sonoma County Wednesday morning, detaining at least nine people and arresting one on suspicion of felony drug manufacture for his role in cannabis oil production.The operation raided was <a href="https://www.cbd.org/cannabis-sublingual-sprays-tinctures" target="_blank">Care By Design</a> (CBD Guild), which produces CBD-rich cannabis oils for use in sprays, gels, and cannabis oil cartridges for vaporizers. The company offers products with five different ratios of CBD to THC so &quot;patients can adjust their cannabis medicine to suit their specific conditions and personal preferences.&quot; Police accused the operation of using dangerous and illegal butane extraction for their oils, but Care By Design says that is not the case.</p><p><strong>Heroin and Prescription Opioids</strong></p><p><a href="http://www.modernhealthcare.com/article/20160615/NEWS/160619941" target="_blank">AMA Resolutions Aim to Curb Opioid Abuse, Will Ignore Patients&#39; Pain Reports</a>. At its annual meeting in Chicago, the American Medical Association (AMA) approved a number of resolutions aimed at curbing the misuse of prescription opioids. One called for removing any barriers to non-opioid pain therapies, one calls for promoting increased access to the opioid overdose reversal drug naloxone (Narcan), but &quot;the group also voted in favor of efforts to remove pain as a vital sign in professional standards, as well as disconnecting patient satisfaction scores from questions related to the evaluation and management of pain,&quot; a move that may not bode well for chronic pain patients.</p><p><strong>Asset Forfeiture</strong></p><p><a href="https://insurancenewsnet.com/oarticle/seizure-and-confiscation-coverage-now-available-to-legally-operating-cannabis-businesses" target="_blank">Company Now Offers Asset Forfeiture Insurance to Cannabusinesses</a>. CBZ Insurance Services is now offering coverage to protect state-legal marijuana businesses from the threat of seizure and asset forfeiture. The company&#39;s &quot;search and confiscation&quot; coverage applies only to entities that are state-legal and are found innocent of any raid-related charges. &quot;A legally operating cannabis business has unique challenges other types of businesses don&#39;t have,&quot; said CBZ&#39;s Jeffrey Rosen. &quot;One challenge is the threat of being shut down at any time by law enforcement. Whether you&#39;re a grower, distributor or manufacturer, search and seizure coverage is the best protection for a company&#39;s assets.&quot;</p><p><strong>Drug Testing</strong></p><p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/jun/16/gwen-moore-drug-test-rich-for-tax-deductions" target="_blank">Congresswoman Wants to Drug Test the Rich Before Approving Tax Deductions</a>. US Rep. Gwen Moore (D-WI) has called for requiring wealthy Americans to undergo a drug test before approving their tax deductions. Moore said she will file the bill because she is &quot;sick and tired, and sick and tired of <em>being</em> sick and tired, of the criminalization of poverty,&quot; referring to efforts pushed by Republican governors and legislators to impose drug testing requirements on people seeking public benefits. &quot;We&#39;re not going to get rid of the federal deficit by cutting poor people off SNAP. But if we are going to drug-test people to reduce the deficit, let&#39;s start on the other end of the income spectrum.&quot;</p><p><strong>International</strong></p><p><a href="http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2016/jun/16/public-health-bodies-call-for-decriminalisation-of-drugs" target="_blank">British Public Health Bodies Call for Drug Decriminalization</a>. Two leading public health bodies say drug use is a health issue, not a criminal one, and have called for drug decriminalization. The Royal Society for Public Health and the Faculty of Public Health said that criminalizing drug use has not deterred people from using drugs, and that those harmed by drug use are harmed again by punishment. &quot;We have taken the view that it is time for endorsing a different approach,&quot; said Shirley Cramer, chief executive of the Royal Society. &quot;We have gone to our stakeholders and asked the public and tried to gain some consensus from our community and the public, because that is very important.&quot; The society has detailed in its new line in the aptly named report <a href="http://www.rsph.org.uk/filemanager/root/site_assets/our_work/areas_of_work/tanlod/RSPH-TANLOD-Pages.pdf" target="_blank">Taking a New Line on Drugs</a>.</p><p><a href="http://www.bangkokpost.com/news/general/1011181/regime-favours-ending-war-on-methamphetamine" target="_blank">Thailand Government Proposes Ending War on Meth and Regulating It Instead</a>. Thai Justice Minister Paiboon Koomchaya has suggested removing meth from the country&#39;s dangerous illicit drug list and putting it in the same category as medicinal drugs, with controls -- not bans -- on distribution, sale, and use of the drug. Current measures to suppress the drug have not worked, he said. Paiboon&#39;s comments came in a discussion of the UN General Assembly Special Session on Drugs (UNGASS), which met in April. &quot;The world has now surrendered to drugs, and has come to think of how to live with drugs. It is like a man suffering from cancer and having no cure and he has to live a happy life with the cancer,&quot; Gen Paiboon said. The government has drawn up a bill that would do that, he said.</p><p><em>(This article was prepared by StoptheDrugWar.org&quot;s lobbying arm, the Drug Reform Coordination Network, which also pays the cost of maintaining this web site. DRCNet Foundation takes no positions on candidates for public office, in compliance with section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, and does not pay for reporting that could be interpreted or misinterpreted as doing so.)</em></p> </div>
</div>
</div>
http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2016/jun/16/chronicle_am_uk_public_health_gr#commentsAsset ForfeitureCandidates/RacesCongressDEADecriminalizationDrug TestingMarijuana -- Personal UseMarijuana IndustryMarijuana LegalizationMedical MarijuanaMethamphetamineNews BriefOverdose PreventionPolice RaidsSearch and SeizureUnder-treatment of PainWelfareThu, 16 Jun 2016 21:56:01 +0000psmith31978 at http://stopthedrugwar.org